Windy City Sports magazine's third annual readership survey, published in this month's issue, ranked Gabrielse's Snowcrest Ski Center in Crestwood first among all such businesses in Chicago's suburbs. Snowcrest also was rated the best in-line skate store in the 'burbs.

Gabrielse himself was touted in 1993 as one of the top boot fitters in the country (the only Midwesterner mentioned) by "Insider Ski Newsletter," an industry trade publication. The article reported that usually the best fitters come from manufacturing, but a few other gurus can turn pain to perfection.

"I didn't mind traveling the distance," said Michele Blecher, who teaches at Northwestern University. She came to Snowcrest from Evanston because Gabrielse had been recommended by Jeannie Thoren, a former ski racer from Minneapolis who travels the country to conduct clinics. Thoren's seminar was on the importance of balancing and canting (adjusting the angle at which the boot sets in the ski) to accommodate the shape of women's bodies.

"She said he was a reputable person," added Blecher. "I knew he would do it right."

"It's where you should be on your skis in relation to your center of gravity," said Gabrielse, 45, of Orland Park, whose own center of gravity has shifted, he said, which is typical as people age.

"Where manufacturers mark binding placements, you need to be 5 foot 9, a young male, 175 pounds, with a (size) 8 1/2 foot," Gabrielse said. "You have to be the typical racer."

Blecher said Gabrielse moved her bindings forward on the skis. In addition, he adjusted the cant of her boots to accommodate her bowed legs, which, along with knock-knees, are common to women, Gabrielse said. Both leg shapes make it more difficult for women to get up on their ski edges. Blecher received a lift under one side of her boot and said now she can edge (maneuver on surfaces other than the skis' bottom) more easily.

The philosophy behind adjusting for these technical and natural situations is that women who can't edge get stuck at the intermediate level, while the adjustment allow them to excel. "I'm skiing better," added Blecher.

Boots, skis and related retail sales and servicing weren't part of the business Gabrielse started. He was an instructor first, skiing the pro circuit in 1974-76 and managing a ski shop in Evergreen Park. He thought he could change the way skiing was taught by selling and teaching on indoor ski machines called Mogulslope Ski Decks, for which he now owns the trademark. In 1976 he opened Snowcrest, an indoor ski school, to teach on and demonstrate Mogulslope.

"I had to have a place to show the deck, but I had no intention of being a retail store," Gabrielse said. "I wanted to be a ski school."

But he and wife, Diane, added merchandise along the way. It was a fortuitous decision, because the Mogulslope didn't take off as planned. Although he has sold about 27 machines around the country and still services some of them, he quit marketing the Mogulslope in the '80s. He thinks there may be a renewed interest in the $40,000 machines, two of which are maintained in the shop so customers can test equipment purchases and so instructor/employees can meet the ongoing demand for lessons.

"On the deck we teach everything from falling down to freestyle. For example, we teach kids how to do somersaults with their skis on," said Greg Brock of Chicago, manager of Snowcrest.

"We use the deck to teach you exercises to make you a better skier. They get a chance to take the exercises with them and apply them on the slope . . . If you can ski well on the deck, you'll be great on the snow," Brock said.

"As we taught people how to ski, they also became customers," said Gabrielse, who said it's one of his secrets to success. "Since 1976, we've introduced about 20,000 people to skiing." And, as teaching skills and reputation grew, the business thrived.

In the 20 years Snowcrest has been in business, there's been an increase in sales every year, said Diane Gabrielse. "In the past five years, we've increased an average of 15 percent a year."

She explained that while the ski business had been stagnant for the past few years because there are fewer people starting the sport, "Our increases in the past couple of years, we feel, have been due to the ski school--because we're introducing people to the sport--and because of the snowboard business."

So many factors affect the business, explained Gabrielse, beside the economy and population changes. "We're affected by temperatures and snowfall here and by all the areas out West."